I nodded. Sure she wasn’t. I plucked up a nice worm in my left hand and used my right to carve Xs on opposite sides of the hole. “This is yes and this is no,” I told him as I pointed first to the top and then the bottom.
“Why don’t you do a Y and an N?”
Because I only knew X. Holding the worm out, I said, “If you know how to worm it, then you do it.”
“Sorry,” he said a little dramatically.
I cupped the worm and whispered softly to it before placing it on the ground. The worm wiggled around for a moment and then headed mostly in the yes direction.
“She likes me?”
“Sort of, but it’s not a sure thing. I think she’s got some reservations.” After all, it hadn’t been a straight shot.
“Like what? Can you get more information?” Burn sat on his haunches as the worm finished crawling into its new hole.
“No. That’s not how this works. The worm has spoken. That’s all you get, or you chance insulting the worm.” I threw some dirt back into the hole. Shop was closed.
“How do the worms know?”
“I’m not sure, but they’re very, very wise.”
He nodded, as if he were taking my words as seriously as I meant them. He could’ve been messing with me, but I didn’t think so.
With a nod I interpreted as a thanks, Burn wandered off.
Chapter 13
I tiptoed across the camp with a mirror in hand. Stupid men—they didn’t blink an eye when I asked if there was a mirror I could borrow. The fact that my hair looked like a rat’s nest didn’t seem to occur to them. Maybe they thought I was going to pretty myself up for them. They were going to be waiting a long while for that. I needed this mirror for one thing, and it had nothing to do with perfectly coiffed hair or rosy cheeks.
I’d seen the tallest oaks growing on the northwest side, and luckily, that was probably the best spot to try and send my message. Too bad the ward around this place was too weak for me to sense. Meant I’d have to be extra cautious to not trip it.
I stuffed the kindling I’d grabbed from the forest floor into my sack, which they’d never taken. Between the kindling and the matches and plate I’d snagged, hopefully I could get a message out that wouldn’t involve burning down the tree. The stupidity of trying to make a fire, even a small one, while in a tree didn’t lose itself on me. It would be okay, though. I’d done stupider things. None of this would even matter if they weren’t out there looking for a sign.
There was a nice, large oak that would work well; its branches were sparse enough. I slung my sack across my back with all my gear and found a perch.
I kept the fire small and sent the signal off in several different directions. By the time I got down, I had a few singed fingers but I hadn’t started a major fire.
Hopefully they’d get the message. It was a simple one, if contradictory. I’m safe and stay away didn’t usually go together.
I made my way down the tree and knew he was waiting for me before I saw his shadow at the bottom of the tree. When I went to drop the last few feet, he caught me. He put me down but didn’t let go of my waist. Ryker in a room alone was a lot to adjust to. Ryker touching me—it was too much. My magic felt chaotic, and I could feel almost a sizzle where he touched my waist.
“What was the signal?”
“There wasn’t—”
“I saw it. Do you want to explain, or should I send someone out to kill whoever you set the message to?”
“I’m afraid my crew is going to show up, and I told them to stay away,” I blurted, hoping the truth would buy me some space. I was doubtful he’d take my word for it, even though I completely believed him.
He dropped his hands. Or maybe he would?
“That’s it? We’re good?”
He stepped away from me.
I guessed that meant we were good. I turned and headed back, refusing to look over my shoulder to see if he was going to follow.
Ryker’s magic flooded my room and nudged me awake. He stood by my hip, staring down.
“If you sent a message to your crew to stay away, why are they trying to ram themselves through my wards in the middle of the night?” He didn’t sound happy. I wasn’t too happy, being woken from the first sound sleep I’d had in a while. But then what he’d asked settled in my sleep-fogged brain.
Oh, damn. I shoved a lock of hair away from my face as I got to my feet. “Probably because they like to follow orders about as much as me. If you hurt them, our deal is off. I don’t care if you give me a decade of life.”
His eyes narrowed a hint. “I don’t care enough to hurt them.”
Damn, did I just tell him I might’ve felt a little indebted? If he thought he was going to use that against me, he was crazier than I thought. I mean, maybe I owed him something, but not everything.
I grabbed my coat. “Where are they?”
He headed toward the door. “You need to explain the situation and send them on their way before they become a nuisance.”
I followed him toward the oak where I’d sent my signal from, and saw Burn and Sneak standing there, looking out into the trees.
Ryker stopped beside them while I kept going, knowing they were out here somewhere, hidden in the forest.
“She wasn’t trying to leave. She wormed it,” Burn said. I didn’t know if he was defending me to Ryker or Sneak or both.
“What was she doing?” Ryker asked.
“You know, worming it.” Burn said it as if everyone knew what worming was.
“Worming it?” Ryker asked.
“Yeah, it’s like this thing she does where she asks a worm a question.”
“And you think…”
I couldn’t hear the rest as I moved farther away, but I wasn’t interested in Ryker’s opinion of worming it. He could think whatever he wanted.
I saw Ruck’s face peeking out from behind a tree ten feet away. He held up a finger and made a small circle. It was our sign that the crew was in place, and to get ready. I shook my head slightly.
I knew the others might be close by but hanging back in case it was a trap.
Ruck looked me over, and I thought he was looking for some sort of restraints. He made the signal again.
I shook my head and then waved him toward me as I walked in his direction. He hesitated, looking over at where Ryker, Sneak, and Burn were.
I waved again. He headed toward me, but he wasn’t happy about it.
I knew what the flick of his eyes toward Ryker’s group meant as he got closer. I gave a single, short shake, telling him no.
Ruck looked at me as if he were trying to understand which piece of the puzzle he was missing. Why wasn’t I trying to get away?
Once he was right in front of me, I said, “I can’t leave.”
“There’s only three of them. They’re kind of big, but the odds are on our side.”
If only that were true. Ruck didn’t realize who we were up against.
“There could be ten of us and we wouldn’t win, not up against him.”
Ruck’s eyes shot to Ryker, even though he didn’t know who he was, and back to me. He was catching on. “It’s like that?”
I nodded. “Worse, actually. The dark one in the center is Ryker.”
Ruck’s jaw dropped for a second as the stories came back to him. He shook his head.
Ryker gave Ruck a nod, confirming his identity, as if he heard everything.
“Have they hurt you?” Ruck’s eyes were searching for some injury now, and then shooting back to the trio like he could take them all on.
“No. Ryker is actually trying to keep me alive at the moment. He needs me.”
“Keep you alive from what?”
Ruck stared at me, his fists clenched as if he were prepared for battle. If I didn’t get this explanation out fast enough, he might end up pounded into the ground, because he seemed to not realize how outmatched he was. Or maybe he didn’t care. If I thought someone was hurting him, I wouldn’t have.
I found myself biting the side of my cheek instead of speaking. The explanation wasn’t as difficult as it was unpleasant. I decided to start with the easiest part and build up from there. I needed to take baby steps in this whole I’ve got a problem area.
“You know how I’ve denied feeling sick even though you knew I was lying through my teeth?”